Check book out; giant Chinese battery tech firm backs Chariot
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Matt Birney
In a sign that the lithium market is on its way back in a hurry, Chariot Resources has registered a stake in a major China-based battery materials group, signing a binding agreement to issue 9.5 million shares at 15 cents per share; this represents a slight premium over the market price of 14.5 ca shares.
The deal, which will pour $1.425 million into Chariot’s coffers, will also see Jiangsu Greatpower NexEnergy Technology, a subsidiary of Shanghai Greatpower Nickel and Cobalt Materials, acquire 19 million free-standing unlisted options on Chariot, exercisable at 30 cents over two years. Completion is subject to approval by the Chinese government and will occur within five business days of such approval, with a long stop date of April 15, 2026.
Notably, the equity check appears to be an opening salvo in which Chariot management has confirmed that the company is already in advanced discussions with Greatpower on project-level financing and procurement framework for the Nigerian lithium portfolio. These discussions potentially include early down payment financing for small-scale mining and broader exploration financing across the portfolio.
‘We are happy to have the great power in our records.’
Shanthar Pathmanathan, chairman of Chariot Resources
Chariot Chief Executive Shanthar Pathmanathan said: “We are delighted to welcome Greatpower to our books and look forward to them increasing their stake as the relationship develops. “We see this as a strong fit with a globally connected suite of battery materials.”
The proposed framework being discussed could also contemplate exclusive purchasing rights on early-stage small-scale mining production, options to fund research and development across Greatpower’s portfolio in Nigeria, and potential collaboration on electrical mining equipment.
The new relationship dovetails with a strategy Chariot has been establishing since mid-2025, when it agreed to acquire a 66.667 percent stake in the four-cluster Nigerian hard rock lithium portfolio held through C&C Minerals, a joint venture entity, with local partner Continental Lithium.
Field work has already provided the kind of early proof points that will keep buyers focused. Validation rock sampling at Chariot’s Fonlo and Iganna projects in southwestern Nigeria yielded lithium oxide grades ranging from 2.66 percent to 6.59 percent; up to 0.15 percent tantalum pentoxide and one sample returned cesium above the laboratory’s upper limit of detection. The company has flagged mineralogical studies and metallurgical tests as part of a phased plan designed to move from artisanal work to more formalized small-scale mining.
Chariot also outlined a 2,000 to 4,000 meter diamond drilling program at Fonlo and Iganna, which is proposed to be launched after completion of the acquisition of the Nigerian portfolio. The company describes Fonlo as hosting a swarm of near-vertical trenches spanning over six kilometers of impact, while Iganna is interpreted as a pile of shallow-dipping pegmatite sills that could add real scale if drilling confirms continuity.
Acquisition itself remains an important transition element. In December, Chariot amended its original share sale agreement to tighten exclusivity and non-circumvention provisions and extend the expiration date of conditions precedent to May 5, 2026. Chariot also agreed to finance license transfers and closing costs by advancing $379,195 to C&C Minerals through a convertible shareholder loan backed by Continental’s corporate guarantee.
The market tends to view acquisition-related project financing as adult control of the battery metals world. If Great Power discussions progress from framework conversation to signed project financing and offtake agreements, there is a good chance that the company’s small-scale mining pipeline at Fonlo, Iganna, Gbugbu and Saki will start to resemble a program rather than a concept…….and with lithium on the rise again, Chariot and Greatpower’s timing could be just right. In any case, it would undoubtedly be fun to drill into some of these areas with surface expressions reaching 5 to 6 percent lithium oxide. Watch this space.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
